VAR

[eltorrro]

VAR and Southgate are ruining football.

This is pathetic to watch..Southgate thinks England are best in world, he's deluded!!

Thank goodness we don't have VAR in lge 1 (or Championship!!)...football is a contact sport and should be played as such. Those in charge of VAR seem to know nothing about natural movement.

Afraid I have switched off this match, going to watch IACGMOOH..not so much faking it!!

[Blue Walter]

VAR and Southgate are ruining football.

This is pathetic to watch..Southgate thinks England are best in world, he's deluded!!

Thank goodness we don't have VAR in lge 1 (or Championship!!)...football is a contact sport and should be played as such. Those in charge of VAR seem to know nothing about natural movement.

Afraid I have switched off this match, going to watch IACGMOOH..not so much faking it!!

Add the referee to that list of what's ruining this game.

[BlueinPLtwenty]

Third Division Referee! Where do they find them, this one tonight was a "Homer" actually as good a Referee as Homer Simpson

[Blue Walter]

To be quite honest I don't think you could completely blame the ref even though he had a shocking game. The penalty award was exceptionally poor decision by him but he only gave it after VAR prompted to have a look at it. That makes the decision even more bizarre because the VAR referee thought it was a penalty. I actually thought Maguire, who had a shockingly poor first half, was lucky that he never gave them one earlier which I thought was more valid than the one given.

I think Southgate is in danger of wasting this group of England players talent with this never ending passing game. He has done well to make England a force again but he is holding them back now. With this reliance on making ball retention more important than taking the odd chance is wasting the forward talent this country has at its disposal.

[BlueinPLtwenty]

Both N.Macedonia & Malta put 11 men in front of their goal, as we know is very difficult to break down

[Blue Walter]

Both N.Macedonia & Malta put 11 men in front of their goal, as we know is very difficult to break down

Yes that is true but good players in a good team should be able to find a way to overcome that. This is where I would like to see England use these highly skilled forward players ability. Football is still basically a simple game but where tactics can negate skill. To get round that the more skilled players have to be given licence, encouraged even, to adapt and modify the game plan in certain passages of the game. Our game is based on ball retention passing it about in an attempt to pull the opposition out of their shape, and then make incisive through passes to make goal scoring chances. This very often leads to long passages of passing with our central defenders becoming the hub of the movement. Sometimes it screams out for someone like Sako, Rashford, Grealish and others, who are wonderfully gifted players, to take on opposing players and get past them. The most dangerous ball of them all, which has been there since the game was invented, is where a player gets down to the goal line and crosses the ball. Most of England's forward play is in front of their opposition where they are massed behind the ball, making it long periods of boredom. Getting in behind them occasionally gives England's opponents something else to think about and making it difficult to defend against.

[pompeygunner]

Both N.Macedonia & Malta put 11 men in front of their goal, as we know is very difficult to break down

Yes that is true but good players in a good team should be able to find a way to overcome that. This is where I would like to see England use these highly skilled forward players ability. Football is still basically a simple game but where tactics can negate skill. To get round that the more skilled players have to be given licence, encouraged even, to adapt and modify the game plan in certain passages of the game. Our game is based on ball retention passing it about in an attempt to pull the opposition out of their shape, and then make incisive through passes to make goal scoring chances. This very often leads to long passages of passing with our central defenders becoming the hub of the movement. Sometimes it screams out for someone like Sako, Rashford, Grealish and others, who are wonderfully gifted players, to take on opposing players and get past them. The most dangerous ball of them all, which has been there since the game was invented, is where a player gets down to the goal line and crosses the ball. Most of England's forward play is in front of their opposition where they are massed behind the ball, making it long periods of boredom. Getting in behind them occasionally gives England's opponents something else to think about and making it difficult to defend against.

Personally I think the last two games highlight how much Bellingham brings to England, he has everything in his locker & just brings out the best in the other players.
I'm not going to worry about the last two games, we've qualified & played some fantastic football along the way. With our absolute first 11 out there last night we'd have demolished them. Southgate has experimented because we've qualified plus has injuries to contend with.
All fit we'll see a very different England in the euros & ultimately, at this stage, thats all that matters.

[Blue Walter]

Both N.Macedonia & Malta put 11 men in front of their goal, as we know is very difficult to break down

Yes that is true but good players in a good team should be able to find a way to overcome that. This is where I would like to see England use these highly skilled forward players ability. Football is still basically a simple game but where tactics can negate skill. To get round that the more skilled players have to be given licence, encouraged even, to adapt and modify the game plan in certain passages of the game. Our game is based on ball retention passing it about in an attempt to pull the opposition out of their shape, and then make incisive through passes to make goal scoring chances. This very often leads to long passages of passing with our central defenders becoming the hub of the movement. Sometimes it screams out for someone like Sako, Rashford, Grealish and others, who are wonderfully gifted players, to take on opposing players and get past them. The most dangerous ball of them all, which has been there since the game was invented, is where a player gets down to the goal line and crosses the ball. Most of England's forward play is in front of their opposition where they are massed behind the ball, making it long periods of boredom. Getting in behind them occasionally gives England's opponents something else to think about and making it difficult to defend against.

Personally I think the last two games highlight how much Bellingham brings to England, he has everything in his locker & just brings out the best in the other players.
I'm not going to worry about the last two games, we've qualified & played some fantastic football along the way. With our absolute first 11 out there last night we'd have demolished them. Southgate has experimented because we've qualified plus has injuries to contend with.
All fit we'll see a very different England in the euros & ultimately, at this stage, thats all that matters.

I agree Bellingham is world class and, as you say, brings other players into the game. I agree with you about Kane, who is an exceptional centre forward, but also even when he drops into midfield shows a remarkable passing range. I also believe that England, with this crop of players, can be the best in the world but I think Southgate needs to rethink his strategy and get the team playing more offensively. I think that teams now know that if they defend in depth England will struggle and open them up with their style of play.

Where I do disagree with you is that I think every match matters. If they want to be the best in the world every game they play should be honing towards that mantle. They need to perfect how they play, although I would prefer to see them mix up the attacking side. I think they put more effort in last night than the Malta game, just not really showing that it mattered a great deal.

[Betelgeuse]

Watching last night's game I felt like opening a tin of paint and seeing how long it takes to dry. That's what watching Southgate's England does to me sometimes.

[Sam_Brown]

Wasn't great watching but also important to bear in mind it wasn't the full first team playing. It's important to give fringe players their chances and matches to gain experience experience. I however don't disagree with the overall sentiment that with the attacking prowess we have I'd like to see us being more attacking minded. Something I feel like we were seeing early Southgate and he's become scared of losing so plays it safer than perhaps the team we have merits. It's difficult because I feel like the defense is our main weakness so protecting that back line is something that needs to be taken into consideration but against the likes of Malta I'd expect us to throw caution to the wind. Experience and minutes on the pitch is great. But if it results in crappy results like against Malta it's not without it's negatives as well.

[Blue Walter]

Wasn't great watching but also important to bear in mind it wasn't the full first team playing. It's important to give fringe players their chances and matches to gain experience experience. I however don't disagree with the overall sentiment that with the attacking prowess we have I'd like to see us being more attacking minded. Something I feel like we were seeing early Southgate and he's become scared of losing so plays it safer than perhaps the team we have merits. It's difficult because I feel like the defense is our main weakness so protecting that back line is something that needs to be taken into consideration but against the likes of Malta I'd expect us to throw caution to the wind. Experience and minutes on the pitch is great. But if it results in crappy results like against Malta it's not without it's negatives as well.

That is a good point when you refer to 'early Southgate' where he basically steadied the ship when he first took over. I think any manager would like to take control of this present crop of England players and Southgate is the present lucky incumbent. Now he needs to move to the next stage, in my opinion, and use the forward talent at his disposal.

[NSRailings]

Personally I think the last two games highlight how much Bellingham brings to England, he has everything in his locker & just brings out the best in the other players.
I'm not going to worry about the last two games, we've qualified & played some fantastic football along the way. With our absolute first 11 out there last night we'd have demolished them. Southgate has experimented because we've qualified plus has injuries to contend with.
All fit we'll see a very different England in the euros & ultimately, at this stage, thats all that matters.

Agree with this. We've had 2 games which don't mean anything. Qualified with games to spare, so job done. Players priority now is to stay fit for the rest of the domestic season and for the euros. So I'm not surprised we've had a couple of dull games. Most players aren't going to go hell for leather when there's no need to. The last thing we need is a crocked Kane etc because of an injury in a meaningless game.